Kingsport Ballet in the community

By Bertina Dew, Executive Director, Kingsport Ballet –

Kingsport Ballet has become a fixture in the downtown community as an arts and wellness center. The 15,000 square foot facility serves as the destination for dance students and their families, fitness enthusiasts, music students, and even for those seeking the services of a physical therapist or a massage therapist.

The ballet school offers dance instruction following the Vaganova method of classical ballet, respected around the world as a provider of technique of excellence. It is primarily for this reason that students commute from around the region, up to 1.5 hours away to receive training, and serious students even travel from other states to receive instruction here. Other forms of dance and a recreational track are offered to students who have other interests but who still want a strong technical foundation.

“Parents spend a lot of money on their childrens’ extra-curricular activities. It only makes sense that they would want to offer them the best available training, no matter what their goals are,” explains artistic director Valeria Sinyavskaya. “We believe that if you’re going to do it, you should do it right.”

KBFit offers a wide range of fitness classes for adult students of all ages. Arts partners who sublet space in the facility offer arts instruction such as clarinet, piano and violin lessons, while others teach reading or offer videography services. A part time physical therapist and a massage therapist offer affordable care to not just Kingsport Ballet clients but to the community at large.

This type of facility, even a not-for-profit one like Kingsport Ballet, receiving general operations support from the Tennessee Arts Commission, must work hard to nurture and build community relationships. Partnering with businesses and private entities who believe in the quality of life benefits of such an organization is paramount to KB’s sustainability. The organization depends on these relationships with long-standing businesses for its survival. Many such partners have provided support for the organization through the years. Some of those long-time supporters include Eastman Credit Union, Bank of Tennessee, First Bank and Trust, Eastman, Regions Bank and Powell Valley Bank.

Kingsport Ballet’s neighbor and banking partner Bank of Tennessee is building their regional headquarters across the alley from the ballet school. When the call came for KB students to participate in beautifying the bank’s construction fence, students were preparing for a contemporary performance at the Busker Fest, organized by Downtown Kingsport Association. Dancers responded enthusiastically and readily agreed to decorate the fence with colored plastic strips, woven into the fence in the shape of flowers. They even recruited a Burleson Construction staff to help with the art work.

Being good neighbors and nurturing the relationships of our community friends and supporters is on the top of our list of priorities. These partnerships not only strengthen our organization, they benefit our whole community.

Kingsport Ballet is supported in part for general operations by the Tennessee Arts Commission under an agreement with the General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. Outreach programs are funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Funds for At-Risk Youth, the City of Kingsport, the Massengil De- Friece Foundation, and the Junior League of Kingsport, among other foundations and private entities